


Red Threads and Distant Stars

by Havendance



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Other, Red String of Fate AU, Shiro's bad at dying, Soulmate AU, Stream of Consciousness, all the good shiro and black bonding, blackashi, s1 & s2 centric, shiro is the only black paladin, spoilers for VLD s2 and s6, tw: choking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-24 20:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20020828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Havendance/pseuds/Havendance
Summary: Shiro has always had a thread pulling him into space but it takes him nearly dying on the Kerberos Mission to find the amazing creature at the other end.Or: Shiro was never supposed to die in space, but he’s spent enough time with things trying to kill him up there to know his grave is probably going to be in the stars.





	Red Threads and Distant Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Red String of Fate Soulmate AU. People are connected to both platonic and romantic soulmates.

Shiro has always had a thread pointing straight up at the sky. It’s gossamer-thin and he can barely see it most of the time, but it’s there. It feels like it’s pulling him up and into the universe, to someplace that no one from Earth has ever gone before. 

The thread is the reason Shiro joins the Galaxy Garrison. The reason that he pushes on despite the fact that his body has an expiration date on it. There are threads connecting him to Earth, ones thicker than the one pulling him up into the sky, but they aren’t enough to keep him from pushing Earth away, from wanting to soar. 

The Garrison sends him to the Moon. It isn’t far enough. They send him to Mars and his thread is still pulling him farther away. They send to Kerberos, the farthest any man has ever been from Earth and he looks and sees that his thread is still pulling him forward. He knows he’s running out of time and there’s still so much of the universe to see.

* * *

Shiro doesn’t remember what happens next, only bits and pieces: Terror. Harsh purple light. Metal where his hand used to be. His body covered in sweat and blood and sand. A galra telling him to run. 

Champion. 

Two threads, one connected to Earth, the other, the unknown.

Bleeding out in a stolen ship hurtling back to the home he’d run from. 

Keith.

Shouting. Promises and fear. 

There’s something he has to share. A warning he needs to pass along. He has to remember. He can’t remember.

* * *

Shiro wakes up in a familiar shack in the middle of the Arizona desert. The place looks like Keith hasn’t cleaned it out in years. There are a handful of people sleeping on the floor. Keith, Katie, a couple of strangers. There are threads connecting him to all of them.

They go out in the desert chasing something called Voltron (the word is familiar and alien at the same time) and end up in space again, riding in a mechanical lion. 

They arrive in a castle and Shiro notices that the thread drawing him into space has split into two. One thread leads to an alien princess who’s slept for 10,000 years. The other leads to the black lion, sleeping in the castle’s basement for just as long. 

She’s beautiful.

* * *

The princess - Allura - tells them of war and conquest. Voltron, she says, can end it all. They can bring about peace. Her point is emphasized by the Galra who show up to blast them into smithereens.

Maybe they don’t believe her, maybe they have doubts, maybe there doomed. But there’s something connecting them to this place, to the lions, to this cause. Shiro never set out to fight a war, but he can see that he needs to fight this one.

* * *

Coran tells them that they are about to attempt an expert level exercise designed to bring out the bond between paladin and lion. Shiro’s visor turns into a blindfold a second after he finishes.

They dive. Red and Green, Yellow and Blue, and Black hurtling towards the Earth that the lions can see and the pilots can’t. 

Shiro closes his eyes and reaches out to the thread connecting them. It feels natural. He asks Black and she shows him what she sees. It’s crystal clear.

When they form Voltron, Shiro can feel how all their threads become woven together into something stronger. They’re all connected, five becoming one. It’s exhilarating. 

He can feel their bond grows stronger when Pidge decides to stay and fight with them, rather than looking for her family. It grows stronger when Hunk discovers his reason to fight at the Balmera. It grows stronger when they’re forced to dive headfirst into Galra High Command to rescue Allura.

It’s hard to go back: hard when Hagar shows up and plays with his mind and his nightmares; hard when Zarkon pulls on the string that still ties him to Black and strikes; hard to see halls he’d rather forget. But Shiro holds onto his threads and draws on their strength. Keith, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, Allura. They give him the strength to keep fighting. (He tries to lean on Black but their thread is weak, too weak. Why isn’t she there?)

* * *

Shiro’s nearly died so many times that he’s lost count. His disease, the galra, gladiator fights, the galra, being stranded in space, the galra, and now falling onto a rocky planet with alien predators closing in and a glowing wound in his side. Which, now that he thinks about it, is still tangentially the Galra’s fault. He isn’t sure if he’s going to make it this time.

He can’t feel Black. He can barely feel anything except the pain. There’s static in his ears and under his skin. There are black spots in his vision. He can barely hear Keith’s voice. Shiro can feel himself slipping away.

It would be so easy to give up. To let go and fall away, giving in to the darkness and it’s creeping hold.

_ Hold on. _

It’s Black’s voice. A minute later, there’s a crash and the monsters circling him run off. Maybe he won’t die today after all.

* * *

Zarkon is chasing them. They don’t have time to rest, to refuel, to prepare. Shiro tries to sleep in stolen moments between their jumps but each time, nightmares leave him waking up more tired than before. He’s not alone. 

All of them are running on adrenaline and caffeine. All of them are getting closer and closer to losing this fight. Voltron can’t end this way, beaten down in some backwater corner of the universe. Not without a fight.

Shiro knows that Zarkon’s tracking Black. If Voltron’s going to survive longer than the next few quintants, then that’s going to have to change. He needs to be closer to Black than Zarkon is.

Shiro sits in Black’s cockpit and closes his eyes. He can see the thread reaching out between them, shimmering faintly. It looks the same as it always does.

“Show me,” Shiro whispers, “how can I make our bond stronger?”

Suddenly, a bright light pulses along the thread and Shiro sees that they’re leaving the castle ship, flying deep into space.

_ Trust me, _ Black says.

Shiro tries to.

* * *

Black’s home is a ruined planet, rocky and barren. Shiro closes his eyes and tries to see through her’s like he did before. When he does, the planet transforms; it swirls with life. Satellites drift on the edges of the atmosphere and small craft depart and land. 

There’s another flash and Shiro sees a hanger with all five lions sitting in formation inside. There are a handful of figures overlooking them. A younger Zarkon and Alfor are standing side by side. For a moment they don’t look like enemies. In fact, they almost look like friends.

Alfor says something and gestures to the lions.

Zarkon nods and says something in reply. There’s something about the way he stands and the way he moves that makes him look younger--less like a hardened conqueror. Shiro almost feels comfortable around him. Almost.

Suddenly, Zarkon stops mid-conversation and turns, looking straight at Shiro. “ _ You _ .” Suddenly he isn’t the younger man he was before. He’s the emperor. The Zarkon who’s been chasing them across the universe. 

Shiro instinctively takes a step back. Part of him is surprised that there’s a step back to take and then he realizes that he isn’t in the hanger any more, he’s standing in a purple field of stars, Zarkon across from him. 

He’s alone. The black lion is gone. He notices that his threads are stretching out from him, glowing faintly. He can see a single thread stretching out from Zarkon. It’s dark and corrupted.

Zarkon scoffs. “Do you think you are worthy to be the black paladin? You are weak.” 

The black bayard flies forward like a snake about to strike. Shiro steps aside just in time and hears it hiss past him. 

A split second later, he’s moving. “We’re strong together.” He strikes, his arm glowing the same color as their surroundings.

Zarkon brushes him aside. “Then why has the Black Lion abandoned you?”

Shiro doesn’t answer. He’s tumbling through the air. He rights himself and catches his breath for a second before striking again.

Adrenaline rushes through him. He is back in Gladiator Pits: covered in sweat and blood and sand, fighting for his life.

They go back and forth. Shiro relies on instinct--on every time he’s fought for his life against something bigger and stronger than he is--but he’s outmatched. It only takes one misstep and Zarkon grabs him, lifting him up by his throat.

“You were a fool to challenge me here. I will destroy you and your body will die. The Black Lion is mine to command.”

Breathing is difficult. Shiro forces himself to stay calm.

“I-It isn’t about strength.” Speaking is difficult. “It’s about trust. About the bond.”

Zarkon’s grip grows tighter. Shiro can’t breathe. Darkness starts to creep the edges of his vision. 

Shiro has spent a lot of time in space with things trying to kill him. He’s about to die now. Part of him, a subconscious part, reaches out along the thread connecting him to Black. The conscious part isn’t able to do much besides freak out.

Shiro can barely see now. Zarkon’s grip is crushing him. His lungs are desperate for air and his limbs feel heavy.

Suddenly there is a roar and he can breathe again. Shiro falls to the ground, gasping for air. He looks up to see Black standing there, towering above them. Her threads glow red and stretch out; she is connected to him, to Zarkon, and to others far away in distant lands.

She roars again and Zarkon vanishes, banished. The thread connecting her to him appears to vanish as well but as Shiro struggles to his feet, he can see that it’s still there just impossibly fine. It’s almost invisible.

“Y-you saved me,” Shiro says. His voice is hoarse. “Thank you.”

_ You are mine _ . Black’s voice resonates through his body. It feels safe.

* * *

Shiro opens his eyes. 

He is in Black’s hangar, safe in the Castle of the Lions. He knows that they don’t have to worry about Zarkon finding them anymore. Black rumbles softly beneath him. When he looks at his threads, the one between her and him has grown thicker. In fact, it’s thicker than any other threads that he has.

Later, when he shares the good news with the rest of the team, his voice is still hoarse.

Voltron makes their way across the universe. They gain allies and start to make plans. Zarkon will fall so peace can rise. Part by part, piece by piece, they lay the trap that will bring him down.

* * *

Black is the bait. 

“Can you bring him here?” Shiro asked one night during their endless planning sessions.

_ Of course _ . Black was mildly annoyed that he even had to ask.

Now, they are sitting in space. Everything is in place. Black sends out a silent roar. It’s directed at Zarkon, but Shiro can still feel the echoes resonate along their thread.

Then, they wait. 

It isn’t long before Zarkon’s high command warps right into the snare that they’ve set.

* * *

The virus they’ve planted leaves Zarkon’s high command defenseless. Voltron hacks and slashes at it. Shiro can feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins, rushing through his teammate’s veins, rushing through their bonds.

Suddenly there’s a flash from Zarkon’s ship. 

Shiro has just enough time to think that it should be impossible before the blast hits them and it feels like his very life is being sucked away. He can’t hold on to it. All he can do is scream and protest as everything is ripped away. He can feel Black’s silent screams resonating together with his until it finally stops and silence settles.

* * *

Static.

Shiro can faintly hear Allura’s voice crackling through their comms. He can barely move. Around him, Black is silent.

Allura is telling them that they need to move. They can’t. Voltron is frozen, floating in space. 

Allura tells them to try. That they are paladins and that they cannot stop fighting.

Shiro closes his eyes and focuses on threads that tie them together. They aren’t woven together like they should be. They aren’t glowing. They look dead.

“We can’t give up,” Shiro needs to convince himself just as much as he needs to convince his team. “We have to keep fighting.” 

None of them are certain. He can feel it. They can feel it too.

“If we fall now, the universe’s only hope does too. Are you going to let that happen?” Shiro asks. He forces the gnawing doubts and fears to the back of his mind.

“Not a chance.” Keith is the first to speak.

“Never.” There’s a raw determination in Pidge’s voice.

“Nope,” Hunk speaks without a trace of fear.

“Not if I can do anything about it,” Lance says earnestly.

“Then focus. We are stronger together.” Shiro pours everything he has into the threads that bind them together. Through their connection, he can feel them doing the same thing. The lights in the cockpit slowly flicker and then turn on completely. 

Voltron is back in the game.

* * *

The energy coursing through their bonds fills Shiro with something more than the usual battle high. It feels like they could take on anything. Sword clashes against sword as they fly through space made darker by the blackout on the galra high command. 

Even with that energy, Zarkon’s mech is no easy foe. He has thousands of years of experience and knowledge of Voltron that goes far beyond what five young paladins can do. The first time they strike, he parries the blow, sending them flying back. The second time, he dodges and strikes, disintegrating what holds them together and flinging the Lions apart with frightening ease. 

Shiro only realizes just what Zarkon is doing when he feels Black flinch as they hurtle through space. 

Zarkon’s still trying to pull on the bond he once had with the black lion. It should be impossible but Shiro can feel Black’s struggle and hear her cries of distress. There’s no other explanation.

She’s leaning on him, leaning on their bond, pulling strength from him to fight Zarkon. He gives it gladly.

Part of him is aware that the other paladins are trying to talk to him, but their words are static in his mind. All he can hear is Black and all he can see is the thread stretching between them. Zarkon must not win.

* * *

Shiro can hear screams. Zarkon’s assault has stopped temporarily.

_Now._ Black says. Her voice is soft but intense. _Strike._

Shiro nods and starts to fly towards Zarkon. He can feel Black urging him on. Power is rushing through their bond. All their struggle has been leading up to this. Somewhere in this breakneck charge, Shiro ceases to be just Black’s paladin. He is a part of her and she is a part of him. He can feel her pain, her fear, her love, her courage. 

For an instant, they are on the Astral Plane again. Zarkon is there but he is nothing against their combined might. He tries to attack them, but his power is nothing. They strike and the corrupted bond between them and Zarkon snaps.

* * *

Shiro is back in Black’s cockpit. He and Black are no longer one, but he can feel her humming at the edge of his conscious. There is a moment of shock once he realizes that he is holding the black bayard.

_ Go _ . Black rumbles in encouragement.

“It’s time to finish this,” Shiro says, talking as much to Black as the rest of the team. “Form Voltron!”

* * *

Shiro was never supposed to die in space. Sure, he signed his life away before the Garrison would even let him touch a spaceship. Sure, accidents happen, but the safety measures on the new spacecraft made them nearly impossible. 

He was supposed to die safe at home in his bed when his body finally gave out on him. That was how Adam had wanted him to die.

Shiro never wanted to die that way. If he was going down, he was going to go down fighting.

Energy flows through Shiro’s bonds like never before. 

* * *

Voltron grapples with Zarkon once again. This time, he’s weaker. He strikes back but the bite is gone. 

They impale his mech with Voltron’s sword. Shiro thrusts his bayard into its slot and the sword bursts into flames. There is a flash, then a shockwave as Zarkon’s mech explodes. The light hits first, then the pain, and finally--

* * *

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

* * *

Everything is black. Shiro can’t hear or feel or see anything besides the red threads stretching out from him.

One by one they fade away. Shiro somehow knows that when they all disappear, he will too. Really and truly, completely dead. There’s nothing he can do besides wait. At last, there’s only one left. Strangely, he feels it pulling him somewhere.

_ I have you. _

All of sudden there’s light, an abundance of stars. Shiro is back on the astral plane. Across from him, Black is sitting, staring down at him. Between them, a red thread is glowing.

_ I will keep you safe.  _ Black’s voice surrounds him, vibrating in every part of his being. Somehow he is safe and he is alive.

* * *

Shiro has nearly died in space more times than he can count. Today is no exception. Death will come for him someday, but not today and not without a fight.

For now, Shiro feels Black’s purrs resonate throughout him. He relaxes and for the first time in forever, he sleeps without nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been sitting in my head since season 6 dropped. I started writing it them but hit a dead end and then seasons 7 and 8 were failures and I just lost motivation. This probably wasn’t going to get written but then I remember how awesome Shiro was and this turned into one part Shiro is the one true Black Paladin and one part Shiro’s good at everything but dying.
> 
> Shout out to smolsarcasticraspberry’s extensive ‘Shiro is the only true black paladin metas’. They were my reference in writing this.


End file.
